Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-01-20
VALUABLE GOVERNMENT BOOKS.


VALUABLE GOVERNMENT BOOKS.
A Patent Attorney Talks About Some Much
Coveted Documents.
Washington Post.
"An author who gets $4,000 fer single
book usually considers himself pretty
well paid, does he not?" qaeried we'll
known patent attorney of a reporter.
The latter hungrily murmured ''Yes," and
fell into deep, four dimensional revery
of contemplated book of his own. And
you will acknowledge that most govern
ment publications are valued by the
pound junk-shop measurements" insinu-
ated the attorney.
Eyes? Well there are ten books In the
United States patent Office for the abso-
Lutte and unconditional possession of
which [ would cheerfully hand over my
check for ,000-S5,00O apiece. They
are still in manuscript, and probably will
not be printed-not right away"
The reporter woke up and listened.
"Those books are the letter books con-
tanning the names and addresses of in
ventors, with the titles OF inventions,
the past ten years.
ITO commence at the beginning, there
has been an average of $4,000 cases filed
in the patent office every year for the last
ten years, and yearly average of $4,000
patents granted Last year there were
$4,000 applications fled and $4,000 pat
ents issued, an unusual number. On this
showing about so per cent of the applica-
| how
have been during the last ten days about
100000 objected cases. These in part
include cases defeated in interferences
and applications allowed, but on which
final fees have not been paid be-
cause the inventions proved imperative
or for some similar reason.
''Now good attorneys get fully IS per
cent Of their cases allowed and patented;
hence there must be some reason for
only 60 per cent of the applications be-
ing allowed. The reason is this: Fully
eight thousand inventors every year
make out their cases and try to get them
through the patent Office. Not knowing
the routine, they almost invariably get
involved in the meshes of red tape an
procedure and fall by the way. The diff
Guilty may De very slight, mere formal
1ty, a defective = drawing, an
improper worded application. an indef-
mite specification, a slight interference,
or few decided amendments, which a
| regular patent attorney could overcome
in half hour, but to the inventor proves
an unsurmountable obstacle; his appli-
cation is rejected, and he gives up in
despair.
''Cases filed III the patent office go first
to the twenty eight principal examiners,
according to the subject matter. If they
are rejected for any reason two years is
allowed in which to amend them or to
take any other necessary action.
If no action has been taken at the end
of the two years such cases are then
treated as abandoned and are sent to
the draftsmen's division, where they are
| entered in the books of which I have
made mention and there remain. Fully
| $4,000 of these rejected cases of the last
ten years fall under these conditions.
At a low estimate twenty-five thousand
OF these rel ected cases put in the hands of
a competent attorney could be patented.
patent attorneys fees on such cases
would be about $50 per Casa gross
sum of 81, 100000. Count out dead, de-
| funct, dis gusted, and dead-broke inven-
tors, still an enormous number would get
out patents if they knew how. But the
trouble is just here-no one outside the
patent Office is allowed access to those
| file books. AS I said before, if I had the
sole privilege of overhauling them I
would give $4,000 and then clear $780,
600. Then again, there are some fifteen
thousand cases now lying in the examin-
er's rooms awaitingthe two year limit.
These are still moress valuable, as Eff they
are taken up before the time limit ex-
pire, the initial fees do not lapse, while
in the other cases they would have to be
| repaid.
This action of the office was not always
thus. When M. D. Leggett was commits
sioner, for about a year, attorneys were
allowed access tie all letter books, and
previous to that had been ailo we'd access
to the files of abandoned cases, but there
was constant scrabble and not infre-
quently downright fights over them,
and about 1875 the Office made them Sec
ret.